Applications are open for the Stanford PACS Digital Civil Society Lab Non-Residential Fellowship 2020. The Non-Resident Fellowship supports social sector leaders to dedicate time to working on ideas that apply to broad swaths of civil society but that may not quite fit into their “day job.” The fellowship provides time, space, expertise, and financial support to help turn ideas into prototypes or action, and to build a cohort of fellows to support ongoing learning and community.

Topics

All applicants are responsible for designing, proposing, and implementing projects of their choice within the purview of one of two fellowship tracks:

Track 1: Digital Civil Society: Fellows will be primarily affiliated with the Digital Civil Society Lab (DCSL) at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. DCSL fellows will join CCSRE fellows for orientation week in January 2020 and will work closely together as part of the same cohort throughout the yearlong fellowship term.

Track 2: Race and Technology: This year, between one and three fellowships will support fellows working on a challenge related to racial equity. These fellows will be hosted by the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity in partnership with DCSL and the Stanford Institute of Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. These fellows will join DCSL fellows for orientation week in January 2020 and will work closely together as part of the same cohort throughout the yearlong fellowship term.

Benefits

All fellows will receive:

A $20,000 stipend, paid at the beginning of the fellowship, to support work on a year-long project.

A week-long in-person convening of the cohort on the Stanford campus, January 20-24, 2020.

Travel support to cover the cost of attending the January 2020 week-long convening.

Project support up to $5,000 to support additional project-related travel and expenses as appropriate.

Mentorship from fellowship directors and access to fellowship alumni from previous cohorts.

Eligibility

The Non-Resident Fellowship is open to applicants 18 years of age or older who meet the following conditions:

Meet all submission deadlines and submit the application in English;

Commit to spend twelve months undertaking a project addressing one of two topical tracks: Digital Civil Society, or Race and Technology;

Commit to contribute a final written report, video or audio interview;

Commit to attend a week-long convening of the fellowship cohort at Stanford University, January 20-24, 2020. This week involves an introduction to the Lab and its research goals and activities, opportunities to meet other communities on campus, independent time to interact with scholars and research institutes on campus and in the area, and the development of individual year-long work plans. Fellows are encouraged to engage with and imagine/identify additional collective activities for their cohort.

Each fellow will pursue a project or set of activities of their own design over the course of the fellowship. Applicants pursuing projects that are already in progress, as well as projects that may not be fully completed within one year, are eligible to apply.

Fellows are expected to engage as a cohort with the other Non-Resident Fellows as well as with Stanford postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and student researchers.

While they welcome applications from outside the United States, they are currently unable to support the acquisition of visas. If you are applying from outside the United States and are accepted, you will need to secure your own visa.

Selection Criteria

The selection process will take into consideration the following criteria:

Potential impact

Does the project address a question or challenge that is broadly relevant across civil society?

Will the project contribute significant new knowledge or create substantial positive change?

Does the Fellow demonstrate a deep understanding of the issue their project addresses?

Will the Fellow and the project benefit from engagement with an academic research community?

Quality of project proposal

Is the project plan thoughtful and well-articulated?

Have potential risks and challenges received adequate consideration?

Are goals, timelines, and deliverables realistic?

Has the applicant identified potential partnerships that will catalyze the project?